Defenseless Kings fail to catch Sharks again in Game 2

San Jose Sharks' Dan Boyle, right, moves the puck behind the net as Los Angeles Kings goalie Jonathan Quick defends during the second period of Game 2 of an NHL hockey first-round playoff series Sunday, April 20, 2014, in San Jose, Calif. (AP Photo/Ben Margot)

SAN JOSE — They vowed to be better in Game 2 on Sunday than they were in Game 1 on Thursday, but they weren’t. They promised to clean up their act, but they didn’t. They said they wanted to make smarter plays and better decisions, but they couldn’t.

As a result, the Kings suffered a humiliating 7-2 beatdown at the hands of the faster and more efficient San Jose Sharks at the SAP Center and trail their best-of-7 first-round playoff series 2-0. Games 3 and 4 are Tuesday and Thursday at Staples Center and the Kings must change their ways.

Mike Brown, Raffi Torres, Justin Braun, Patrick Marleau, Joe Pavelski, Logan Couture and Joe Thornton (power play) scored for the Sharks, who trailed 2-0 after the first period and then roared past the Kings as if they were standing still to start the second.

Jake Muzzin and Trevor Lewis scored first-period goals for the Kings, who looked as if they learned their lesson after a listless 6-3 loss in Game 1. They were outshot, outskated, outhit, outplayed, outhustled, outsmarted and outscored over the final two periods of Game 2, however.

To be sure, the Kings trailed the St. Louis Blues 2-0 to start their first-round series last spring, and still managed to rally for a 4-2 victory en route to the Western Conference finals. This looks and feels different, however. San Jose made the Kings look defenseless during the first two games.

“It stinks sitting here after another one-sided loss,” Kings forward Justin Williams said. “Every playoff series, every run to the playoffs is different and has a different feel. We have one day (before Game 3) to get ourselves together and regroup and refresh.”

Above all, the Sharks made it appear as if the Kings, the NHL’s best defensive team during the regular season, couldn’t keep up. The Sharks won races to the puck, they forced turnovers that led to scoring chances and they got out in front and stayed there in sprints down the ice.

The Kings left goaltender Jonathan Quick defenseless again and again and again in Game 2, a repeat of Game 1. Quick has given up 13 goals and faced 73 shots in two games. His goal-against average during the regular-season was a puny 2.07 and his save percentage was .915.

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“I thought he was fine today,” Kings coach Darryl Sutter said rather tersely of Quick.

Quick did not speak to reporters after the game, but by night’s end it certainly appeared he had suffered from a serious case of rubber poisoning. The Sharks fired 40 shots at Quick, including 25 over the final two periods, when San Jose scored seven unanswered goals.

Kings defenseman Matt Greene, one of seven Sutter dressed for Game 2, was on the ice for four of the Sharks’ goals. Center Anze Kopitar, a leading candidate for the Selke Trophy as the NHL’s best defensive forward, was on the ice for three San Jose goals.

“I don’t know if it’s one thing in particular, but we gave up a lot of odd-man rushes, even in the first (period),” Kings captain Dustin Brown said. “We came up here twice and didn’t get anything that we wanted. We got our (butts) kicked pretty much.

“Now we go home and we’ve got to take care of home ice. It starts with a game on Tuesday. In a series like this, you remember the score but you move on from the game and focus on Game 3, because that’s all you can do.”